The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure has called the Horne Lake connector unsafe for regular traffic, but calls for an alternate highway out of Port Alberni are intensifying as the normal route continues to be compromised by wildfire.
This year, before students even closed their books for the summer, forest fires sparked throughout the region.
The Cameron Bluff fire, which is believed to have been human-caused, grew to 229 hectares, closing Highway 4 for most of June - the only highway in and out for many West Coast communities.
One month later, the 16.6-hectare Klanawa River fire was discovered in what Huu-ay-aht Chief Councillor John Jack referred to as the shared territory between his First Nation and Ditidaht.
It has been a long time coming for students and community members along Vancouver Island’s west coast to see Ucluelet Secondary School renovations come to completion with a facility that is now seismically safe.
With an overcast sky, and the smell of west coast air, a crowd mustered outside the newly constructed USS building in anticipation for their grand opening on National Indigenous Peoples Day.
The federal and provincial governments have announced a wave of funding to communities across British Columbia to provide upgrades to wastewater treatment facilities, and Tofino is among those.
The District of Tofino will be getting $7.5 million of the $48.6 million being given out by the federal government, which will be going towards Phase 2 of the Secondary Wastewater Treatment and System Upgrade project announced back in 2019.
Islandlink has resumed bus service between Port Alberni and Tofino or Ucluelet following a short interruption due to the Cameron Bluffs wildfire, which forced the closure of Highway 4 since June 6.
"We were forced to suspend service on June 8 due to the Cameron Lake fire road closure, cutting off Nanaimo, but now realize the people on the Coast also require local services," says Phillip Morgan, owner of Islandlink and TofinoExpressBus. "For them, the closure has gone on too long already, so today we have re-started those services."
With a forest fire still smoldering on the slope above, Highway 4 will be closed for another week and a half, according to an update from the provincial government on June 13.
In a midday press conference delivered by Rob Flemming, B.C.’s minster of Transportation and Infrastructure, a tentative reopening date for the weekend of June 24 was announced, allowing firefighting crews to further dampen the Cameron Bluffs wildfire while the hazards of a compromised mountainside over the critical highway corridor are assessed.
After months of eagerly awaiting resources to respond to mariner emergencies, members of the Ka:'yu:'k't'h'/Che:k'tles7et'h' First Nation were excited to spot the new Search and Rescue vessel’s arrival on May 18.
Since 2021 Ka:'yu:'k't'h'/Che:k'tles7et'h' and the Coastal Nations Coast Guard Auxiliary (CNCCA) have been working together to get a SAR vessel in their community. In January construction began on the vessel in Sidney, B.C.
Tseshaht First Nation is expected to soon have major savings on its energy bills thanks to some substantial funding from the provincial government.
It was officially announced in late April that the B.C. government would provide $500,000 to Tseshaht so that the First Nation could install a new heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) system at the local building, which includes its administration offices as well as a health centre.
Tseshaht First Nation’s Chief Councillor Ken Watts said the building’s current system has a heat pump that is outdated.
Gravel is being laid on the last stretch of road at the 15.5 to 24-kilometre mark of the Bamfield Main and is expected to be complete by the end of April. According to Uyaqḥmis, the Huu-ay-aht First Nation’s newsletter, all of the ditching and culvert work is complete and the project is on schedule.
Negotiations are underway for a contractor to complete the 76.6 kilmetres of seal coat, which is expected to be complete by August.
The District of Tofino plans to re-introduce parking meters in the downtown area, raising concerns of offshore residents who are already struggling to find space for their vehicles.
“Tofino’s summer vibrancy leads to increased parking pressures downtown, and pay parking is a proven way to increase turnover and parking availability as well as improving road user safety, while providing an important funding source to support community programs, services, and facilities,” according to the District of Tofino.